Legalized Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons Essay Example
Legalized Marijuana: Pros and Cons
While the public opinion of marijuana has steadily gained more approval throughout the years, the government opinion has increasingly become stricter, especially with regards to drug laws. The United States of America has recently had to reanalyze its stance on the matter due to many new medical studies, approval of marijuana in some states, such as California, and the repercussions given to the people convicted from the use of it. Marijuana continues to be illegal to United States citizens based on the health effects of marijuana use whether harmful or beneficial. Thus, being the main argument about marijuana usage in this country and can this problem be that difficult to solve.
With marijuana’s wide ranging side effects the government views it as not a probable drug to use in the medical world. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) more people are becoming abusers and addicted to marijuana use, “In 2008, nearly 26 million Americans (10%) aged 12 or older reported abusing marijuana within the past year and more than 4 million met DSM-IV criteria for abuse or dependence.”(“Dangers”) These strong dependency issues make the medicinal use of marijuana an extremely sensitive and controversial subject. Since, marijuana is a plant that contains more than 400 chemicals constituents it has been said to cause many different side effects in each individual person such as altered judgment and decision making, increased heart rate by 20-100%, risk of psychosis, and cognitive impairment beyond the time of intoxication (“Dangers”). The US government does not want to take these risks and face them head on.
Medical marijuana has been seen to be given to any person who shows a slight problem and no further testing is needed to get approved. This is a major problem with the people of the United States because with such a strong drug being issued it
While the public opinion of marijuana has steadily gained more approval throughout the years, the government opinion has increasingly become stricter, especially with regards to drug laws. The United States of America has recently had to reanalyze its stance on the matter due to many new medical studies, approval of marijuana in some states, such as California, and the repercussions given to the people convicted from the use of it. Marijuana continues to be illegal to United States citizens based on the health effects of marijuana use whether harmful or beneficial. Thus, being the main argument about marijuana usage in this country and can this problem be that difficult to solve.
With marijuana’s wide ranging side effects the government views it as not a probable drug to use in the medical world. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) more people are becoming abusers and addicted to marijuana use, “In 2008, nearly 26 million Americans (10%) aged 12 or older reported abusing marijuana within the past year and more than 4 million met DSM-IV criteria for abuse or dependence.”(“Dangers”) These strong dependency issues make the medicinal use of marijuana an extremely sensitive and controversial subject. Since, marijuana is a plant that contains more than 400 chemicals constituents it has been said to cause many different side effects in each individual person such as altered judgment and decision making, increased heart rate by 20-100%, risk of psychosis, and cognitive impairment beyond the time of intoxication (“Dangers”). The US government does not want to take these risks and face them head on.
Medical marijuana has been seen to be given to any person who shows a slight problem and no further testing is needed to get approved. This is a major problem with the people of the United States because with such a strong drug being issued it